


A Week at the Beach

by sir_kingsley



Series: Destiel Summer Days [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Beach, Alternate Universe - College/University, Beaches, College, College Castiel/Dean Winchester, College Student Castiel, College Student Dean, Destiel - Freeform, Lifeguard Dean, M/M, Summer, Summer Love, Summer Vacation, dean/cas - Freeform, lifeguard!Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-26
Updated: 2015-07-26
Packaged: 2018-04-11 06:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4424909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sir_kingsley/pseuds/sir_kingsley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel Novak hates the beach. But one gorgeous lifeguard might be worth the sunburn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Week at the Beach

**Author's Note:**

> So I know summer is ending, but I got this idea to do a series of destiel fics that take place in the summer. I'll try to update ever few days. Hope you like it!

_Sunday_

Castiel hated the beach.

He wasn’t the outdoorsy type, first of all, and he particularly hated the heat. He couldn’t stand the sand. It was hot and found its way into ever nook and cranny and so exhausting to walk through. And ever since sixth grade science he hadn’t been able to see the ocean as anything but a cesspool of fish pee and whale sperm.

Alas, there he stood in a sea of sand, sun burning his shoulders even through his T-shirt while he glowered at the ocean waves crashing over the shore.

“Come on, Cas, cheer up,” his sister, Anna, encouraged, elbowing him in the ribs. She dropped her bags and lifted her arms toward the ocean, inhaling deeply through her nose. “We’re at the beach!”

“Yeah, Cas, don’t be so crabby,” their brother, Gabriel, piped in, standing there like his hot pink and ice cream cone patterned swim trunks weren’t an insult to the human eye. 

Cas raised an eyebrow. “Beach puns? Really?”

“I sea someone is feeling a little salty today.”

“Don’t pay attention to him, Gabe,” Anna said. “I think they’re fintastic.”

Cas groaned and tried to distract himself from his giggling siblings by setting up the beach umbrella. 

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, there’s an ice cream stand over there I’ve been dying to trout.”

“That was just sad, Gabe,” Cas said.

“You’re such a buzz krill, Cas.” Before Cas could give another dirty look, Gabriel was dancing away toward the food stands. 

“We seriously just got here,” Cas said mostly to himself. 

“He’s excited,” Anna said.

“We come every summer, Anna.”

“Yeah, but only once a year. Come on, Cas, even you have to admit it’s a nice change of scenery. Atmosphere.”

“It smells like fish.”

“Cas.”

Cas ignored his sister’s suffering sigh and finished securing the umbrella in the sand. He arranged his beach blanket underneath and took his position in the shade, where he would spend the next who-knew-how-many hours lurking, waiting for his siblings to finally let him return to the hotel. Just like every year.

The Novaks had been making yearly trips to Florida since Castiel was in grade school. They were your typical family getaways, with trips to Disney World, Universal Studios, half a tour through the Everglades before discovering their father’s rather irrational fear of frogs. And the beach. Many days spent at the beach.

But once all the kids got to college, James and Naomi Novak decided they were over Florida and started taking private trips to Europe. Left in the kids’ hands, the vacation became more a week-long party, days spent baking in the sun and nights spent in bars with too expensive cover fees and over priced drinks. 

The only reason Castiel still came was because it was literally the only time he got to see his family. His parents were still in Boston but his siblings were scattered all across the country with real jobs while he was in Lawrence, Kansas crying over the sad future his English degree would earn him.

Anna knelt in front of Cas, a motherly expression that Cas had come to hate on her face. “Cas,” she said in the tone of a middle-aged soccer mom. “I know you hate the beach. But this is your last summer vacation. Ever. After you graduate, there’s no telling when we can all do this again. I mean, look at Michael and Balthazar. They couldn’t even come this year. This could be our last vacation. So at least try to have fun.”

“Why can’t we have fun at a bookstore or something?” Cas pouted.

“Because Gabe and I are normal human beings and we need socialization, alcohol, and plenty of sunshine.”

Cas rolled his eyes though Anna couldn’t see it through his dark sunglasses. But she must have sensed it because she sighed and said, “Look, if you really want, we can stop by a bookstore tomorrow. I’m sure they have one somewh-”

“There’s one downtown.” 

Anna narrowed her eyes. “Sneaky bastard.”

Cas smirked and waved his hand at her. “Go. Socialize. Drink. Get skin cancer.”

“Love you too,” Anna laughed, getting to her feet and trudging off through the sand. 

Cas laid back and flipped onto his stomach. He pulled a book from his bag and tried to forget his surroundings in the words of Vonnegut.

_This is our last vacation. At least try to have fun._

What the hell was there to do at the beach for fun anyway? Cas looked up and surveyed the beach. Seventy percent of these people were just lying around tanning. There were a few actually in the water, children building sand castles, a group of kids around his age playing volleyball like a spring break cliché, and-

Oh.

_Whoa._

So there was a god.

And he had tan skin and sun bleached blond hair.

And he was a lifeguard. 

Cas stared up the lifeguard stand where the most beautiful human being to ever bless his eyes perched, smiling down at the children skipping through the surf. He wore a pair of sunglasses that obscured the top half of his face but Cas could still make out a fine jaw and plush lips and so. Much. Skin. His eyes swept down the man’s abdomen, across his broad shoulders, his defined biceps.

_Dear lord,_ Castiel prayed, taking a sip of water. He could spend all day staring at this man.

And he did, using his book to hide his staring every now and then so it wasn’t too obvious. 

The guy didn’t do much. Just leaned back in his chair and watched his surroundings. Every now and then he would wave at the people walking past his stand. The first time he cracked a grin that flashed his teeth Cas’s heart stopped.

“Earth to Cas!”

Cas startled when a dark shadow suddenly loomed over him – and blocked his view of the sexy lifeguard. He looked up into his sister’s face. “W-what?”

“We’re ready do go,” Anna said.

“Oh.” 

Anna moved and Cas caught sight of the lifeguard again. He was gazing over the water, like a picture in a goddamn magazine.

“Whatcha staring at, Cassie?” Gabe asked.

“Nothing,” Cas said quickly, jumping to his feet and taking down his umbrella. “Just tired.” Cas turned to his brother and noticed the odd collection of kiss marks on Gabe’s neck.

“Do I even want to know?”

Gabe just grinned. “Probably not. Let’s just say that tomorrow I should have a few more in a less visible area.” He winked and Cas cringed away.

“Oh, actually, Gabe,” Anna said, “I promised Cas that we’d take him to the bookstore tomorrow.”

“What?” Gabe whined. “But Cas can spend six hours in a bookstore!”

Cas glanced over his shoulder at the gorgeous lifeguard. He was climbing down from his stand now. He stepped onto the sand and Cas could see that he was tall, maybe an inch or so taller than Cas and then he stretched, his muscles rippling and Cas’s mouth went dry.

“…promised Cas, Gabe,” Anna was saying.

“No, no, that’s okay,” Cas said, turning back to his siblings. “We can come back here tomorrow.”

Anna quirked a brow. “You sure Cas?”

“Yes. Of course. I love the beach.”

*****

_Monday_

Cas set up in the same spot as the day before. It was the perfect vantage point for creeping on the beautiful lifeguard who was already there. 

Today, he was wearing a T-shirt, but somehow Cas just found it sexier, being able to admire the way the thin material stretched over his shoulders and draped around his torso. And it was breezy today, making Cas less of a disgusting sweaty mess and he could watch the lifeguard’s hair blow when there was a particularly strong gust of wind. 

It was perfect.

Except that Anna didn’t leave.

Gabe was off the second they dropped their bags but Anna decided she needed a day dedicated to just “soaking up some rays.”

She arranged herself on a towel, sunglasses on, and laid back just a foot or two from Cas who was pretending to read again. Cas was pretty sure he heard her snoring after an hour or so.

Cas wondered what this guy’s story was. He looked about Cas’s age. Cas imagined a Florida native, someone who grew up close to the water, rode around in a red convertible with far too many people in swim wear crowded in the backseat, probably played football and basketball in high school and worked as a lifeguard in the summer for fun.

Cas wrinkled his nose just thinking about it. He’d met plenty of guys like that at UK and each one made him lose a little more faith in humanity. But Cas supposed that for looks like this, he could forgive this one.

A whistle blew. “Hey, don’t throw the sand!”

Cas looked up. Sure enough, the sexy lifeguard was pointing an accusing finger at a group of kids with gobs of sand in their hands. 

“You could hurt someone,” the sexy lifeguard went on in a calmer tone that made Cas’s skin break out in bumps. “Play nice, okay?”

The kids stared up at the lifeguard guiltily and dropped the sand. They went about their way and the lifeguard leaned back, not knowing that he’d just knocked the wind out of Cas.

His voice was so low. And rich. He made images of whiskey dance in Cas’s head and he felt drunk off of it for the rest of the day. 

*****

_Tuesday_

Cas couldn’t wait to get back to the beach next day. But he had to. 

Anna decided she was in dire need of a new bathing suit and Gabe agreed he wanted a new pair of trunks – ice cream and cow patters just weren’t doing it for him anymore.

And with those two, one shop was never enough.

A simple bathing suit run turned into a four hour shopping spree. 

They got to the beach well after three p.m. Cas’s growing crankiness disappeared the second he saw the sexy lifeguard up in his stand. He began to set up his umbrella.

Then another young guy approached the stand. “Hey, Dean, you ready?”

Cas’s ears perked up. Dean? Was that his name? 

“Yeah, man, it’s all yours,” Dean said, climbing down.

Cas’s stomach dropped. No way.

Dean and the guy bumped fists and then, yes, to Cas’s horror, the new guy climbed up into Dean’s stand and Dean walked away, passing just a few feet from Cas, which was almost worth the damper it put on the rest of Cas’s day.

*****

_Wednesday_

Cas made sure they got to the beach early the next day. 

He said a silent prayer when he saw Dean up in his stand and began to set up his place on the beach.

“Are you like emotionally attached to this area of sand?” Gabe asked.

“Yeah, seriously, Cas, can’t we move closer to the water?” Anna piped up.

Cas wanted to scream “no” right away but caught it. Defending this spot would just look suspicious. So it was with a broken heart that Cas mumbled, “Yes” and moved his things closer to the ocean.

Anna lifted her arms to the sky like she had the first day. “I love the ocean!” she announced, drawing lots of eyes.

Cas couldn’t help sneaking a peek over his shoulder at Dean who was-

Oh, god.

He was looking right at him. 

Cas was frozen in place, staring at the epitome of beauty through his sunglasses like a deer in the headlights.

And then Dean smiled.

At him.

Cas snapped his head back around, heart thundering in his chest almost painfully. 

“Cas, you okay?” Anna asked. 

Cas nodded furiously, collapsing on his towel. Using his umbrella this close to the water would just be rude to other beach patrons. And his entire body was already blushing red so what harm could the sun really do?

*****

_Thursday_

A lot. The sun could do a lot of harm. Because the sun didn’t care if you were dying of embarrassment or if your blood was rushing with excitement like little needles getting caught in your veins or if you were at code red risk of popping a boner on a crowded beach.

Cas sulked under his umbrella, shoulders on fire and his red-tipped nose buried somewhere in “Slaughterhouse Five.”

Dean was at his perch, keeping watch over the beach and the ocean like some gorgeous reincarnation of fucking Poseidon. But Cas was in too much pain today to spy. 

The only blessing of the day was the strong wind, whispering cool words over Cas’s hot skin.

“You gonna be okay, Cas?” Anna asked. “Need more aloe?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” Cas grumbled into his book. 

“You sure?”

“Yes. Go have fun.”

“I kinda feel bad leaving you alone though,” Anna said, kneeling beside her brother.

Cas looked up. “I’ll be fine, Anna,” he repeated. “Really. If I need something or get too lonely I’ll call you.”

Anna smiled. “No you won’t. But, hey, at least you have a hot lifeguard to stare at if you get bored.”

Cas followed Anna’s gaze to Dean who was fiddling with the whistle tied around his neck.

Anna wiggled her eyebrows. “I’d let him give me CPR any day.”

Cas rolled his eyes and Anna giggled, getting to her feet. “See you around, bro.”

Hours passed and Cas spent the time glancing back and forth between his book, the ocean, and Dean. The waves were bigger today and Dean looked antsier than usual. He was constantly moving, hands patting this thighs, legs bouncing, feet angling in and out and he kept glancing over toward Cas’s side of the beach. 

It was starting to make Cas antsy, making him feel like something was going to happen. So many bad possibilities flashed through Cas’s mind that he abandoned his book altogether, climbing into a sitting position. 

Maybe he should just take a cab to the hotel. He really wasn’t feeling that well and it was so damn windy his eyes were burning with sand and salt. Anna would understand and Gabe… Well, who the hell knew about Gabe? The last they’d heard from him was a picture sent to them at 3:00 a.m. depicting what looked to be a naked Gabe in a kiddie pool of ice cream with whipped cream on his head. Anna and Cas silently agreed not to talk about it. 

A strong gust of wind blew across the beach then, knocking over umbrellas and a few chairs and lifting Cas’s book from his towel. Cas jumped after it but the wind swept it out of his grasp toward the water, ignoring Cas’s shout. 

Cas scrambled to his feet and ran, feet sinking into the wet sand and waves licking up his calves. The wind released the book and it belly flopped on the water just as a wave in it’s last seconds of life broke, pushing the book out of Cas’s reach again. 

Cas tripped and stumbled after it a few feet and was about to dive when a whiskey warm voice said, “I got it.”

A tan hand rescued Cas’s book from the water and Cas looked up and audibly gasped at the ridiculous green of Dean’s eyes. Dean’s friendly smile wilted into an apologetic one as he offered the book to Cas. “Sorry, doesn’t look like I reached it in time.”

Cas’s hands trembled as he took the soggy novel from Dean, still trying to register the fact that Dean was just two feet from him, looking right at him, talking to him. Talking. To Cas. Words. English. Right, yes, English. Cas knew English. Use English.

Cas opened his mouth.

Nothing.

Dean paused awkwardly and glanced down. “Vonnegut fan, huh?”

_Yes, a huge one!_ Cas thought. _I’ve read all of his works._

He just nodded.

Dean tilted his head. “Are you okay, man?” 

_Yes, I’m perfect. More than perfect. This is the best I’ve been all week. I feel like my heart is going to break out of chest. You have emeralds in your eyes and constellations on your cheeks._

Cas could almost feel the words moving his throat, stirring and ready to come out. Instead, all he could manage was, “Ihavetogo.”

“What?”

Cas started toward the beach, practically running really but his legs were too shaky to maintain a solid speed. 

He grabbed his beach bag and didn’t stop moving until he was on the boardwalk, calling a cab and wishing the ocean would have just dragged his under. 

*****

_Friday_

Dean wasn’t in his stand the next day and Cas could have wept with relief. He had pitched quite the fit earlier about coming to the beach but was unsurprisingly outvoted. 

He sat under his umbrella, sunglasses on and bored out of his mind while trying to ignore Anna and Gabe who were hanging around for reasons Cas couldn’t understand. 

“The chocolate syrup was the hardest part to wash out,” Gabe was saying. “It melts and it just goes _everywhere_.”

“Oh, god, Gabe, please shut up,” Cas groaned.

“Cas, don’t be rude,” Anna chastised.

“It’s okay,” Gabe said. “Cas is just grumpy because the yummy bodyguard isn’t here today.”

Cas looked up. “What?”

“You’ve been watching him all week,” Gabe said, waving a dismissive hand. “Can’t blame you. Oh, the places I’d put chocolate syrup on him…”

Cas flooded with heat. 

“Well, cheer up, Cas,” Anna said, “because he’s walking this way.”

Cas whipped his head around. Dean was sauntering toward them but he wasn’t in his usual red swim trunks. Today he wore khaki shorts and a blue T-shirt and Cas didn’t know how but Dean in street clothes was honestly the most beautiful sight he had ever seen in his 21 years of life.

Dean was carrying a small paper bag in one hand and he lifted the other in greeting though Cas didn’t know who toward. 

He kept waiting for Dean to swerve or turn away so he could see what asshole was worth Dean coming to the beach on what appeared to be his day off. But Dean just kept straight, getting closer and closer to where Cas and his siblings were set up. 

And then he was there. Right in front of Cas. He was kneeling. Oh god, his face was so close. So many freckles. So green. 

Dean smiled. “Hey.”

Something hit Cas’s arm and he jumped a little. “H-hey,” he responded. 

“Smooth, Cassie,” came Gabe’s mumble followed by a loud smack. Cas looked back to see Anna yanking their brother to his feet.

“We’re gonna… go… ice cream… something. Bye.”

Cas wanted to yell but Anna was dragging Gabe across the beach, not looking back. He was abandoned. Left alone with this god among men.

“Cassie? Is that your name?”

Cas jerked back around. “No!” Dean flinched at his bark and Cas clamped his mouth shut, took a deep breath. “Castiel. My name is Castiel. ‘Cassie’ is just what my brother calls me.”

“Castiel,” Dean said slowly, as if taste testing the name. “That’s different.”

“It’s an angelic name. I-I mostly go by Cas.”

“Cas. Well, Cas, I’m Dean.” Dean held a hand out and Cas took it awkwardly. Dean’s grip was firm and his palm warm and Cas wanted a lifetime of holding onto it in just three shakes. 

“It’s nice to meet you,” Cas said, always one for manners. “And thank you for helping me with my book yesterday.”

“No problem. That’s actually why I came today.” Dean held the paper bag out. “I felt really bad about it.”

Cas took the bag and pulled out a tattered copy of “Slaughterhouse Five.”

“Sorry it’s a little beaten up. It’s one of my favorites.”

Cas looked up in awe. “You’re giving me your book?” 

“Yeah. You looked really upset about losing yours. Plus, if you don’t have a book, how else will you pretend like you’re not staring at me.”

Lord take him now.

Cas shrunk, bowing his head and bringing the book up to cover his face. “You noticed?”

Dean chuckled softly. “Yeah, but only because I was staring at you too.”

“What?” Cas gasped, glancing up in disbelief. 

Dean had a gentle blush on his cheeks, making his beautiful freckles stand out against the reddened skin. “Yeah. I was actually planning on talking to you yesterday. But then your book was ruined and then you ran away.”

This had to stop because Cas literally could not get any redder without combusting. “I’m really sorry about that. You just… made me nervous.”

“Nervous in a good way?”

Cas couldn’t help laughing at the hopeful note in Dean’s voice and the way he leaned closer. “Yes.”

Dean sighed loudly and wiped a hand across his brow. “Whew. That makes the second reason why I came so much easier.”

“Second reason?”

“Wanna go on a date with me?”


End file.
